Holcombe to be sentenced Jan. 10

By TOM McLAUGHLIN / Daily News

Published: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 06:00 PM.

Just shy of four years after Okaloosa County was stung by the arrest of its Sheriff, Charlie Morris, the last of those criminally charged as accomplices in his bonus kick back scandal is scheduled to be sentenced for his role.

Randall Holcombe, who was Morris’ assistant director of administrative services, will be sentenced at 9 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 10, at the Escambia County Courthouse in Pensacola.

Holcombe, a Morris confidant who was among the first of 14 employees given a large bonus and asked to return a portion to the sheriff, was convicted Oct. 18 of racketeering and grand theft.

“We’re going to ask for imprisonment, based on the nature of the crime, that it involves public funding and his position as a public officer,” said Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar, who prosecuted Holcombe.

Three other former Sheriff’s Office employees, Michael Coup, Sandra Norris and David Yacks, were convicted of the same crimes as Holcombe in Oct. 2010.

Each was sentenced to four years in prison but remain free while appeals wind their way through the court system.

Morris and his administrative director Teresa Adams were arrested Feb. 27, 2009, by the FBI and charged with theft, fraud and money laundering.

They were charged with creating a scheme through which Morris would present trusted employees with large bonuses and ask for some portion of the money to be returned.

Adams, Holcombe, Coup, Norris and Yacks all received bonuses in the neighborhood of $100,000, according to Edgar and returned thousands to Morris.

Morris, prosecutors said, used the money to gamble and keep a mistress, Sabra Thornton, who he hired as his chief of staff. She was convicted of grand theft in January, 2010, but the conviction was overturned on appeal.

Morris is serving a 71-month federal sentence and Adams has completed a 36-month sentence. Each was ordered to serve 20 years of state probation following completion of the federal prison term.

While Coup, Norris and Yacks likely will spend the second Christmas since their conviction outside of state custody, their appeals appear to have run their course.

Yacks’ motion for oral argument in his case, filed July 16, was denied Nov. 5, and Coup and Norris, who are represented by the same lawyer as Yacks, have not filed anything in months.

Edgar said he believes all that is left is for the three-judge appeals panel to do is file rulings in the pending Sheriff’s Office cases.

“A decision could come at any time,” Edgar said. “It could be days or it could be weeks.”

Just shy of four years after Okaloosa County was stung by the arrest of its Sheriff, Charlie Morris, the last of those criminally charged as accomplices in his bonus kick back scandal is scheduled to be sentenced for his role.

Randall Holcombe, who was Morris’ assistant director of administrative services, will be sentenced at 9 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 10, at the Escambia County Courthouse in Pensacola.

Holcombe, a Morris confidant who was among the first of 14 employees given a large bonus and asked to return a portion to the sheriff, was convicted Oct. 18 of racketeering and grand theft.

“We’re going to ask for imprisonment, based on the nature of the crime, that it involves public funding and his position as a public officer,” said Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar, who prosecuted Holcombe.

Three other former Sheriff’s Office employees, Michael Coup, Sandra Norris and David Yacks, were convicted of the same crimes as Holcombe in Oct. 2010.

Each was sentenced to four years in prison but remain free while appeals wind their way through the court system.

Morris and his administrative director Teresa Adams were arrested Feb. 27, 2009, by the FBI and charged with theft, fraud and money laundering.

They were charged with creating a scheme through which Morris would present trusted employees with large bonuses and ask for some portion of the money to be returned.

Adams, Holcombe, Coup, Norris and Yacks all received bonuses in the neighborhood of $100,000, according to Edgar and returned thousands to Morris.

Morris, prosecutors said, used the money to gamble and keep a mistress, Sabra Thornton, who he hired as his chief of staff. She was convicted of grand theft in January, 2010, but the conviction was overturned on appeal.

Morris is serving a 71-month federal sentence and Adams has completed a 36-month sentence. Each was ordered to serve 20 years of state probation following completion of the federal prison term.

While Coup, Norris and Yacks likely will spend the second Christmas since their conviction outside of state custody, their appeals appear to have run their course.

Yacks’ motion for oral argument in his case, filed July 16, was denied Nov. 5, and Coup and Norris, who are represented by the same lawyer as Yacks, have not filed anything in months.

Edgar said he believes all that is left is for the three-judge appeals panel to do is file rulings in the pending Sheriff’s Office cases.

“A decision could come at any time,” Edgar said. “It could be days or it could be weeks.”